You Already Have the Fundamental Skills You Need to Be Successful.

We’re all looking for shortcuts to help us get through the day and make life a little easier, but you still need to come and work. The fundamentals of responsibility do not change. However, being consistent and applying what you already know is how to gain an edge in the competition.

This post was originally published on The Simple Dollar .

In my first job after college, I finished a data organization project. Initially, it was supposed to be a project of at least three people, but soon after the start of the project, the third member of the team was fired.

This was rather frustrating because the third team member had to be an expert on the data we were organizing. She was supposed to understand what the data meant, I had to create the interfaces, and the other guy was actually keeping the database running – in other words, the DBA.

So for most of the year, the DBA and I were moved to a separate office from the rest of the team. There was definitely some subtext that the project was in trouble, not because of our own efforts, but because of events outside of our control.

Unsurprisingly, over that year, I began to build a really strong relationship with the DBA. We spent a lot of time looking at the available data, figuring out the relationships between datasets. We’ve looked at many different interfaces for similar datasets and tried to borrow from those interfaces.

It worked. Our project did a great job at every step of the review and we changed the point of view of some of the decision makers up the food chain. In the end, we were offered many more permanent jobs.

So why am I telling you this?

The database administrator, who played a critical role in doing all of this work, was trained by a high school teacher , not a high school computer science teacher. He taught agriculture at a rural high school in Iowa. So how did he end up as the Oracle Database Administrator? He did not have a degree in computer science or information services. How did he get there?

In fact, he just applied a bunch of skills that were completely unrelated to computer science to achieve this. He applied skills that everyone already has. The only difference is that he actually applied them. Whether you are looking to advance your career or switch to another career, going back to school can certainly help. However, you probably already have most of the skills and traits required to make this transition.

Here are seven skills and traits that you already have that you may not be applying as well as you could. If you can accomplish these things, you will have a strong reliance on the people in your field and it will be easy for you to get in the door if you are looking for a career change.

Be reliable

When someone needs something from you, do you help them? You only call sick people when you are really sick – which is quite rare? Can people rely on you to do what you have to do at work?

Ironically, reliability is actually quite rare, even in higher-level jobs. I know many people who, when you email them or call them about a specific task or subject that you need from them, will say “of course!” and then never deliver anything. Likewise, I know many people who never seem to go to work – they are always “sick” or “on vacation.”

These people are unreliable, and people in their workplace are bound to notice and suffer from it. You may be the most experienced person in the world, but unless you have reliable skills, they are not very useful.

Almost every organization in the world would rather have someone reliable and relatively unskilled at the table than someone highly skilled but unreliable. A reliable person may not create amazing things, but if you ask him for something, he will produce it; they will also be there when you need them. Unreliable person? They can produce something great, but they may simply not produce anything.

What can you do to improve your reliability?

• Declare. Most of the success is just showing. Yes, everyone sometimes wakes up with a desire not to go to work. Everyone has days when they prefer to walk around the house than to work. A reliable person goes to work anyway and thus becomes more valuable in his workplace.
• Be aware of what is asked of you and comply with it in a timely manner. Make a to-do list and try to work it out as efficiently as possible. Prioritize what other people rely on for their work.
• Don’t waste your time. There is always something to do, even during downtime. Work on tasks that will help you cope with difficult times. Keep your workplace organized. Develop your skills.

Be a good listener, especially in meetings

Yes, many work meetings are incredibly boring. In most cases, you would rather be somewhere else and do something else. Of course, it is the unwelcome nature of the meetings that makes them such a valuable meeting place.

All you have to do to stand out from the crowd is pay attention to meeting other people, be it a one-on-one meeting or a large group meeting. Focus on the moment as much as possible and naturally respond to what you see and hear.

Here are three specific steps to take.

• To ask questions. When someone presents something and you are not clear about what they are talking about, ask about it. There are no stupid questions, period. It not only gives you the information you need, but also keeps the presenter on their toes.
• Write down. If I have to be in a meeting, there is usually a reason for it, even if it is not obvious to me. Thus, I believe that whatever is discussed or presented in the meeting is worthwhile and important, even if it is not. My usual solution is to have a pocket notebook or hardback stenographic notebook and pen with me, and I take notes on anything and everything that may be remotely relevant to me. Later, I go through these recordings and see if there really is something on there that I need to act on. If I find anything, then I am one or two ahead of everyone.
• Follow up. If you have any questions after reading the notes, answer them and ask them. It not only gives you more information, but also provides an excellent opportunity to establish a professional relationship with a colleague or manager.

A step forward to unwanted tasks and challenges

There are always tasks that people do not want to take on. Few people enjoy performing in public. Few people enjoy leading small teams. Few people like to be in charge of joint reports. Few people enjoy cleaning up the worst messes.

As frustrating as these tasks are, they are also incredibly useful in separating successful people from losers. The people who speak up and take on these challenges remain the same. They are the ones who are looked at positively for promotions. They are the ones who find the doors open to them. They are the ones who develop new skills that others truly value.

Here are three steps you can take to make this a reality in your career.

• When no one else raises their hand, raise yours. Yes, you are likely to face a task that is difficult and frustrating. Yes, your day would probably be easier without him. On the other hand, you will likely develop some skills along the way, and your manager will notice that you have reached your goal. This provides real benefits.
• No matter how unpleasant the task may be, put your nose down and do it. Yes, sometimes your job will be terrible. Yes, sometimes you don’t want to do this. That is life. The difference between those who succeed and those who have no results. Did they take care of the call or not? Are you going to take on the challenge?
• Take the extra step to get good results. There is often a big difference between doing a task simply and doing it well. Find an extra few minutes (or hours, or whatever) to do something well, not just the minimum.

Avoid negative talk

It is very easy to fall into the trap of beating up a colleague for any number of reasons. Maybe they don’t live up to your expectations. Maybe this person has personality problems. Perhaps this person is causing excessive conflict in the group.

Of course, these are good reasons to harbor potentially negative feelings, but that doesn’t mean letting those feelings out is a good idea. There is no good reason to beat colleagues or speak negatively about others in workplace conversations. In the long run, nothing good ever comes of it.

One of the most serious negative consequences of such negative conversations is that the person who speaks negatively is ultimately seen as part of the problem. Harassing coworkers – even when the conversation is private – can come back and haunt you in ways you never expect.

However, negative talk and behind-the-scenes gossip continues to occur in most workplaces. People have negative feelings and they pour them out all the time. Here’s how you can deal with these situations and make sure they don’t pull you down.

• Never begin to negatively comment on someone or something at work. There is no reason to ever express your negative feelings towards someone or something, especially out of the blue. Just keep those feelings in your back pocket and find more to talk about.
• Treat everyone positively, even when it’s difficult. It’s really helpful for me to think about the people I know and look for the good in them. Every person on earth is a mixture of good and bad qualities; If you spend time actively looking for good qualities in people, you will eventually see them in a more positive light.
• If you are experiencing strong negative feelings, find another way to express those feelings. Yes, we all need to be given a way out sometimes. If you need to get out, find friends outside of your workplace to talk to. Write to your journal (I prefer this route myself). Go to the gym and knock out the bag. Anything that does not bring negativity at work is good.
• If you overhear other negative conversations, just avoid actively participating in them. You can, of course, stand and listen if you find it difficult to do something else. I usually just find myself something to do if the conversation turns negative.

Learn and build skills all the time

Many workplaces are idle while you are at work. Many jobs involve commuting, which means even more downtime. Many people also have extra free time at home. One of the most important keys to success is how you choose to use this downtime, especially the extra time at work. Do you spend it, sitting around, twirling your fingers around? Are you browsing the websites and chatting around? Do you go for long bathroom breaks?

Sure, these things can pass the time, but they won’t help you improve your career or add value to your employer. They are just wasting minutes of your life. Try spending your downtime and possibly some free time doing other things.

• Take some online classes. You can get a lot of certifications and even a few degrees in online courses , but even if you’re not making progress towards an advanced degree, you can learn a lot by taking online courses . Pick ones that develop skills that you can use at work or use in the next phase of your career.
• Start a blog to share your professional research. When you learn something new, rephrase it in your own words, using analogies that make sense to you, and publish those blog entries on a blog you create yourself. Then log into social media and share these posts on Facebook and Twitter, especially with people who share the same interests.
• Learn from your peers. What are they doing? What skills are they using? What are they working on? What skills do they have and how do they learn them? Asking such questions to your colleagues can be flattering. Also, the more you know about the various skills and tasks of others, the more useful you too become.

Be well rested and have a lot of energy

When I was working in this office with the DBA as I described above, we ended up being given an hourly worker to manually enter data for us. It was, to put it mildly, a disappointing experience.

When the student was awake and awake, he did a reasonably good job, albeit at a slow pace. However, half of the time he came to work half asleep at best, and sometimes he just fell asleep at his desk. This not only meant that he was not producing anything while he was there, we often had to stop our own tasks and wake up this hourly worker.

The reality is that if he just came to work with a fresh sleep, not only would he be much more productive at work, but he would not fall asleep and waste our time. This simple lack of energy turned what might have been a great career opportunity for him, one that could have put together a resume and great references, into a disaster where he was ultimately fired. The only thing he had to do, but he didn’t, was to put in enough energy to work with him.

Here are three steps you should take to avoid falling into this trap.

• Maintain a daily routine that ensures you get adequate sleep and eat well. If you are feeling tired during the day, then you are either not getting enough sleep or not getting adequate nutrition. Try to go to bed early and, if after a while that doesn’t work, call your doctor.
• Determine your energy level as you work. I am the most energetic in the morning, so I try to do my hardest tasks first . I postpone less energy-intensive and small tasks for later. This way, you can seem ready for anything during the day, even when your energy and concentration are not strongest during the day.
• The exercise. But doesn’t that burn energy? Our bodies are actually pretty amazing. It turns out that if we get adequate exercise, our bodies and minds become more energized as we become accustomed to these changes. Light exercise will help you cope better in the workplace while maintaining your natural energy levels.

Set personal goals

Where do you want to be in five years? After ten years? What is this life like? Feel free to add as many details as you like. So what do you need to do to make this happen? What needs to be changed in your life to make this vision a reality? You should have a good changelog.

So, what can you do today to move forward on this list? Today. Not next week. Not “someday.” Not when you feel like it. Today.

Once you start thinking about goals and how you strive towards them, most of your life begins to fall into place. You begin to realize that your day-to-day choices are not just isolated, but related to what you want to achieve in life.

Here’s how you can get it.

• Think seriously about the direction your life should take. This is a great activity for morning and evening trips. How do you want to see your future? What does it look like personally and professionally? Be optimistic, but don’t be unrealistic. Keep things within your limits.
• Develop a plan for how to get from here to there. Now that you have this vision of the future, what needs to be done to move you from where you are now to where you want to be? What steps need to be taken to make this transformation happen?
• Each day, ask yourself what you are doing personally and professionally to achieve this. What are you doing today to fulfill this plan? What are you doing now to build this great future? Are you achieving this great future when you waste time at work, or when you don’t come to your plate to solve a problem, or when you don’t worry about your further education?

Final thoughts

The seven strategies mentioned in this article are just a small fraction of what you can do with the skills you have right now. You can get away from a low-paying job. You can get promoted. You can get a better job. You just need to start applying what you have.

You can be reliable if you like. You can make a plan for the future. You can listen. You can be more organized. You can acquire new skills. You can come well rested. You can take on tough tasks.

This is what you can do. Now. Every day. These are the things that will allow you to improve your work, make your career better and with more pay. This is something that will open up more possibilities than you might imagine.

All you have to do is open the door.

You Already Have All The Skills You Need To Be Successful | Simple dollar

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